Import sales of vehicles up to 12.1% in April

Imported vehicle sales retain growth over the third straight month, attaining 7,259 units in April due to increasing demand.

A report on Thursday noted the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID) stating the figure was a 12.1-percent enhancement from 6,476 units a year ago.

The group kept posting sales of 7,000-plus units since February, recovering from the 6,493 units sold in January.

April’s growth was sturdier than the 8 percent posted in March, when 7,952 units were sold.

AVID President Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo in a statement, “The strong April performance signifies that demand for automotive vehicles is slowly increasing, eventually leading to what we forecast as a strong industry recovery.”

All segments found growth last month. Sales of light commercial vehicles (LCV) — accounting for 62 percent of the total — jumped by 13 percent to 4,534 units in April from 4,029 in the same month last year; passenger cars (PC), by 12 percent to 2,614 from 2,343; and commercial vehicles (CV), by 6 percent to 111 from 105.

The end-April saw sales of LCVs grew by 5 percent to 18,483 units from 17,520 in 2018; and CVs, by 2 percent to 447 from 440 units. In contrast, sales of PCs slumped by 8 percent to 10,528 units from last year’s 11,451.

Year-to-date, the number of imported vehicles sold inched up by 0.2 percent to 29,458 units from 29,411 in the same period a year ago.

Perez-Agudo seems optimistic that sales can improve in the coming months, noting the sound macroeconomic fundamentals.

“We are bound to encounter headwinds this year, including shifts in buying patterns and higher interest rates, but we are confident that the industry is geared to tackle such challenges,” she concluded.